NEW CHAIR
Guth Is Appointed Weisskopf Professor
A professorship honoring the renowned physicist Victor F. Weisskopf for
his scientific accomplishments, his unique role as an international
spokesman for science, and his ability to interpret complex subjects for
laypeople has been established in the Department of Physics.
Alan H. Guth, the cosmologist and particle physicist widely known for
developing the "inflationary theory" of the origin of the universe, and
for making his ideas understandable to nonscientists, has been named the
first to hold the Victor Weisskopf Professorship in Physics.
Both announcements were made by Professor Ernest Moniz, head of the
Department of Physics.
"Professor Weisskopf's contributions to quantum electrodynamics and
nuclear and particle physics have been hailed by colleagues throughout
the world," Professor Moniz said. "No less significant and valuable are
the humanistic interests he has brought to bear on a broad range of
issues in science and society as an articulate and effective statesman
of science.
"As director general of the 14-nation European Center for Nuclear
Research (CERN), he played a crucial role in promoting international
cooperation in scientific research and in building what has become a
preeminent particle physics accelerator laboratory in the world.
"He was a founding member of both the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
and the Federation of American Scientists, two institutions which have
been broadly influential in promoting arms control and disarmament. In a
variety of positions, ranging from president of the American Physical
Society and chairman of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel to
serving as president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and as
a member of the Pontifical Academy, he has played a unique role as an
international spokesman for science and its role in society," Professor
Moniz said.
Professor Weisskopf, 83, was born in Vienna and came to the United
States in 1937 to teach at the University of Rochester. In 1943 he
joined the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the atomic
bomb was developed. He has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1945.
He was given the rank of Institute Professor in 1966. MIT bestows the
honor sparingly in recognition of faculty members of great distinction.
In 1967 he was named head of the Department of Physics and held that
post until his retirement in 1973.
Professor Guth's work, which applies ideas from elementary particle
physics to the understanding of the cosmos, has revolutionized
cosmology. His theory of inflationary cosmology has become a widely
accepted explanation of the early universe and provides a new framework
for understanding the origin and evolution of the universe.
The concept of an inflationary universe offers an explanation of why the
mass density of the universe is close to the critical value-the value
that would just barely be sufficient to eventually halt the expansion of
the universe. It also provides an explanation of why the cosmic
background radiation, an afterglow from the Big Bang, has an intensity
which is very nearly the same in all directions.
Among Professor Guth's many awards is one of the the two Julius Edgar
Lilienfeld Prizes for 1992 given by the American Physical Society in
November. The prize recognizes an outstanding contribution to physics
and is awarded to persons who also have exceptional skills in lecturing
to diverse audiences.
The citation to Professor Guth read: "For his concept of the
inflationary universe which has revolutionized the way in which
cosmologists think about the earliest moments of the universe. The
clarity of his presentations, both written and spoken, have made his
important ideas accessible to expert and layman alike."
Professor Guth, 44, a member of the Center for Theoretical Physics at
MIT, received the SB and SM (1969) and the PhD (1972), all in physics,
from MIT. He joined the MIT faculty in 1980 after holding teaching and
research positions at Princeton, Columbia, Cornell and the Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center.